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Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said law-abiding was the primacy of public administration, the governance team and the protection of public interest, when asked about the case of height restriction of building in the Fisherman’s Wharf. Mr Chui said the Urban Planning Committee had not yet reached any decision on the case and would resume discussion upon completion of researches. Speaking to reporters after the opening of the 70th anniversary of victory of the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and world anti-Fascist war exhibition on 1 September, Mr Chui stressed the Government would strictly follow the Land Law, the Cultural Heritage Protection Law, and the Urban Planning Law, which came to force since March last year. Public opinion played an important part in the classification of valuable building, as they helped deciding which intangible and tangible cultural heritage to pass down to future generations, he said. For this, the Government had carried out consultations to encourage more participation from residents. The Government had also invited experts from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China to study the situation of Macao. Mr Chui said with the support from the people, the work on heritage conservation in the past decade was satisfactory, adding that the Government was steadfast in the protection of heritage with universal value.
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The Taipa Library, under the Macao Central Library, in turn under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, was officially inaugurated on 1 September, Tuesday, at 3pm by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis, Tam Chon Weng, the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng, and the president of the Association of Neighbourhood of Taipa, Liu Soi. After the ceremony, all the guests were guided by the Director of the Macao Central Library, Tang Mei Lin, to have a library tour, in order to have a thorough understanding about the library operations and the latest facilities. The total area of the Taipa Library is about 2,200m2, with the estimated storage capacity up to 150,000 volumes and approximate 400 seats for reading. Children’s library becomes one of the highlights in the Taipa Library. With specially designated theme for parents and children, the children's library offers over 30,000 children’s volumes, comprising the most significant collection among all the branch libraries. Other features like nursery room, baby-trolley parking area and children’s theatre are also facilitated in the children's library. Besides, the library has organized several activities for parents and children, which were highly appreciated by the public. In addition, the multimedia room has the largest area amongst all libraries under the Macao Central Library, which offers over 7,000 multimedia materials. Aside from providing various types of films in the film room, we consider to organize regular workshops, seminars or art education activities so as to enrich people in daily reading. Besides, the Taipa Library is the first library under the Cultural Affairs Bureau running self-check system. This allows the public to have self-service on book loan and return. In regard to the reading targets, we increase the number of foreign reading materials and the respective multimedia equipment in the library based on the characteristics of the residential population distribution in Taipa. This makes the library particularly rich in foreign languages materials. The Taipa Library offers a public reading platform to the residents in Taipa, which helps to improve its cultural facilities and promote reading habits in the society. The Library has been operated on an experimental basis since 15 April. It received a high-recorded number of visitors and was highly appreciated by the public. The Taipa Library, located at B1, Parque Central da Taipa, Rua de Seng Tou, Taipa, opens from 9:30am to 8:30pm, from Tuesday to Sunday, and from 2pm to 8:30pm on Mondays, but closes on public holidays. For more information, please contact Mr. Lam, during office hours, through the telephone numbers 2884 3105 or 2884 3172, or browse the Macao Central Library’s webpage at www.library.gov.mo.
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All departments will implement retrenchment measures to control public expenditure starting from today, according to the Chief Executive’s order. But this stricter financial measure will not affect social welfare, the wealth partaking scheme and the Investment and Development Expenditure Scheme. The stable financial situation and sound financial system enabled the Government to cope with any unexpected economic fluctuation. Gaming revenue in August is 18.62 billion patacas, making the gross amount to 158.88 billion patacas in the first eight months of 2015. This amount is lower than the government’s budget submitted to the Legislative Assembly in March. As stipulated, Government would need to introduce stricter financial measures if gaming revenue falls below 20 billion patacas monthly. Government rolled out a plan involving 1.4 billion patacas as to reduce government spending. Measures include freezing five per cent of budgeted expenditure particularly in the purchase of daily supplies, and 10 per cent of budgeted investment plan in all government departments; and requiring particular departments to freeze five per cent of budget on goods and services purchased from a third party, and 10 per cent of estimated expenses for investment. Autonomous bodies which asked for financial subsidy from the central budget in the fiscal year 2015 are now required to return part of the subsidy if there is surplus. In addition, all government departments were asked to spend less on duty visit, non-essential refurbishment and research project, promotion, gathering and souvenir.
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Consumer Council conducted its first ‘Supermarket price survey’ in September on 1 September for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said today that the 70th anniversary of victory of the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and world anti-Fascist war exhibition could help people to memorise the history and treasure peace. Mr Chui said at the opening ceremony which took place at the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao that he hoped the exhibition could help the people, especially the younger generation, to memorise the history, honour the martyrs, cherish peace, create a better future, and uphold a peaceful development. The relics, documents and photos on displace showed the support from Macao people during the war, said Mr Chui. At that time, a number of anti-Japanese groups were established to concert efforts for national salvation and the support of refugee influx, which demonstrated a distinctive patriotic sentiments and a noble humanitarian spirit. He urged the people continue to close ranks and to seize opportunities for adequate economic diversification especially when Macao was experiencing economic consolidation. Pushing forward the establishment of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative and the integration with Guangdong and other areas could further enhance competitiveness of the city and livelihood of the people. In his opening speech, Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Li Gang, expressed his utmost gratitude to Macao’s people who had sacrificed and contribute in the anti-Japanese war and urged Macao people to continue to stay united in the development of the country and Macao. The opening ceremony was officiated by Vice Chairman of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, Mr Ho Hau Wah; Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the Macao SAR, Mr Cai Siping; Director of the Politic Department of the People Liberation Army Macao Garrison, Mr Zhang Jian. It was attended by about 100 government officials, representatives of the Central Government agencies stationed in Macao and people from all walks of life. The guests were presented revolutionary songs performance by the choir of the Women’s General Association of Macau and details of showpieces by Director of the Government Information Bureau Mr Chan Chi Ping and President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Mr Ung Vai Meng. The exhibition, which will run until 4 October, showcases about 210 photos and about 80 relics of the war, displaying a closer look of the history, Macao people’s wartime life and anti-war sentiment in Macao at the time. There will be guided tours provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau from 5 to 30 September.
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